Alright guys, let's do this.

[Riel]

Later today, I'm going to be grabbing, paying for, and ripping open my box of Days, while my DS waits ever-so-patiently in the car. I don't know if any of you recall a thread I made a good while back, but while I was playing Re:CoM, I decided to tell y'all how far I had gotten with each post. I'm going to be doing the same thing with Days.

The only exception: I'm going to ask which difficulty you guys want me to start on, and then I will start with that difficulty. If I find Proud mode to be a little too challenging at first, I will change back to standard and play the game from there.

So, let's hear it before I head to the store, Kingdom Hearts section cretins dwellers. Which difficulty mode would be appropriate to start off with?

[Kurix]

Go off with standard, then move up to proud. Starting off on proud may seem like fun, but odds are, you'll want challenges after you beat it, so then move up a difficulty.

[Smile]

Go with Proud. I don't consider myself a good gamer but I didn't have a hard time with it.

[Riel]

Kurix brings up a good point, though. I'm going to want to squeeze as much play time out of this as possible, because it's the only game I'll be getting for a good while. Not to mention the fact that I'll need to fully understand the story, and two playthroughs should be good for that.

[Smile]

In that case starting with standard and moving up is a good idea, though speaking of game time, the challenges and mission modes should provide enough, regardless of mode.

[Snow]

But whether or not, Proud while doing all the other things will still take up loads of time. Odds are, after you finish Standard, you'll get irritated when you think you have to replay it again in Proud.

[Riel]

Oh right. So, then, why not just go with this; I'll attempt it on Proud, and if I decide early on that it's a bit too hard, I'll restart on Standard. And if I decide that 3/4 of the way through the game, I'm going to find you all and make you pay.

Sound fair? :3

[Snow]

Sure! That's how it's supposed to go anyway, since the difficulty only begins ramping up nearer to the end anyway, with those 'uberbosses'.

[keyking]

have fun with dustfier, then

[Igshar]

Originally Posted by keyking

have fun with dustfier, then

Dustflier is tough on Proud, not impossible. He's only really hard due to being able to wipe you out with a single hit.

Honestly, in any Kingdom Hearts game, if you clear it on Normal difficulty, Proud effectively loses all of its difficulty factor, because the end of Normal usually takes on the difficulty level a bit above the beginning of Proud, so you're well over-prepared for Proud Mode when you play it, causing you to completely annihilate it. :\ You're used to the system right from the start and nothing can stand up to an advanced player, regardless of difficulty level.

[Teiku 5]

the only change in Proud mode is that you take on slightly more damage and less HP prizes are given out (according to the BG guide).

a.k.a. don't get hit. plus the continue button is wonderful and overly forgiving. doesn't even make you start at the beginning of the mission.

limits are nice too and can only be used when HP is critical.

agreed with Igshar's second paragraph.

[Snow]

Proud forces you to use more unorthodox strategies methinks.

That was my experience so far.

[Riel]

Started it on standard, been playing for a little under three hours, and I believe I'm on day 56. More in-depth tomorrow when I'm not exhausted.

[Key_san]

That's fast ^^
i took day & a half to get to day 56

keep us posted.

[Riel]

Alright, now that I am well rested, have played the game for a while, and actually have access to the computer, let's do this.

Time Played: 11:28:14

Day Number: 174

Level: 20

Munny: 22,661

Heart Points: 12,225

HP: 129

Strength: 80

Magic: 69

Defense: 36

Panels:

• LV Doubler-6 (Level Up Panel x6)
• LV Doubler-5 (Level Up Panel x5)
• Triplecast-3 (Fira, Thunder)
• Double Cast-4 (Thunder x2, Fire)
• Lv.2 Magic-4 (Fire, Cure, Blizzara)
• Block-2(Block Lv. +1)
• Dodge Roll
• Aerial Recovery
• Air Slide-2(Air Slide Lv+1)
• Sliding Dash
• High Jump
• Treasure Magnet
• Auto-Life
• Scan
• Lift Gear-3 (Ability Unit, Power Unit)
• (9 slots open for assorted items, typically Hi-Potions and Ethers)

Impressions:

This game is far better than I had any right to expect it to be. Despite all of the praise that the members have given it, I felt as if there were simply some level of fan-dom bumping the score up, much as many people did with KHII when it was first released. I'm very happy to say that I was wrong; this game is fantastic.

The graphics are spot-on, the combat is the right mixture of challenging and rewarding, and I like seeing the way that Roxas has changed throughout the game, not to mention the interactions between the different Organization members. While, like many, I've been annoyed by the amount of ice cream that they eat, that's a small gripe that deep down I actually love.

Gameplay wise... I dislike the recon missions, and there was one where I had to defeat the 'shadow blobs' or whatever, and I got pissed because I would hit the wall instead. I've only died around five times; three times because I set the controls to the 'Set B' setting, and my 'R' bumper didn't work properly, so I was trying to use magic and it WASN'T HAPPENING. So, now I stick with the 'A' controls, and I've got to say: the only time the camera has bothered me was during the Antlion fight, and slightly during the Infernal Gate fight.

Which, was damned hard. Boss fights actually feel like boss fights in this one, which is great; not to mention the general difficulty found between fighting the normal Heartless. Definitely a keeper, and far better gameplay-wise than KHII.

Sad face: I was watching a scene where Xion and Riku were fighting (this is why it's in the Spoilers section, folks) and I hit start in an attempt to pause it, and it skipped instead. Very much 'sad face' worthy.

I'm going to sit here at the computer for a while, and then I'm going to keep playing. Because I have a day off of school tomorrow, I'm guessing that I can get it done by then? Who knows. I'll keep y'all posted.